Black & White, Red & Blue (1)

Blood. Sweat. Bruises. Dirt. A swollen face...

Jeremy came home looking like a ghost, looking half-dead. His school uniform was torn. As his mother watched over him when he slept after she'd bathed him and dressed his wounds, she thought to herself, with tears streaming down her face: Jeremy had never come home looking this bad, even though he usually came home sad, not wanting to talk to anyone. What happened to my son? What's gonna happen to him?

Jeremy, a 7 year-old boy, a BLACK boy, had to go through hell in school. The very day he started school, he was given a very cold welcome by his teacher and his classmates. They all laughed at him when he stood up to answer a question. Nobody played with him, nobody talked to him. They just laughed, laughed at the little BLACK boy that came to their school. One day, a girl in Jeremy's class talked to him. Jeremy smiled when she said "hi". He smiled because he thought he'd finally had a friend, but the lines on his face got twisted from a smile to a frown within seconds. Why was that? The girl who talked to him had asked him with so much ridicule in her voice, "Did you stay too long in your mummy's tummy that you got burnt?" For Jeremy, that was a big insult, but he was to expect more of such insults.

This time, Jeremy was a victim of a mob action by the seniors in school. They ganged up on him just because he had a dark skin, his skin was black and theirs was not. Did he have any broken bones? Was any organ damaged? Did he commit any offence by being black? Did he choose to be black? A knock on the door startled Jeremy's mother back from her thoughts. It was her sister who came visiting.

A few miles away, 26 year-old Jeff lay sprawled on the sofa. Beside him lay an empty bottle of gin. Jeff had resorted to drinking over the last few days. Things did not go right, or maybe everything was fine until he came out as an openly gay man.

All his life, Jeff had been feeling stifled. He had to pretend, to give everybody a colored impression of himself. He made people think he was straight, but somewhere deep within, he always wanted to wave the rainbow flag. Few months ago, he decided to come to terms with reality. He felt nothing for women but the sight of some cute guy would make his adrenaline boil. Finally, Jeff decided that anybody that loved him had to do so because of who he truly was and not because of some fake image of himself which he presented.

It was Thanksgiving Day when Jeff told his family over dinner that he was gay. When everybody was seated for dinner, Jeff said he would say the grace. "Before we pray", he said, "I've got something to tell everyone". For a moment, there was silence in the room and everybody stared at him with curiosity, then he spoke: "I love you all and I know you guys love me too. I feel everyone deserves to know the truth". He took some time to look into the faces of all those seated around him, and then he spilled it, "I'M GAY..."

... For some months, Jeff had to live with the stigma of being gay. He could not take it anymore. He could not get over the feeling of being rejected by family, friend and acquaintance, so he felt that alcohol would take the pain away.

THINK ABOUT THIS

* What would you do if you were either Jeremy or Jeff?

* Is discrimination the best way to make someone a better person?

PRAYER

Dear God, help us to accept every human being just as you have accepted us even in our sinfulness. Let our actions light their paths and bring them back to you.

FOR OUR REFLECTION

James 4:12

John 4:9-10